Edward
"Hey Dad," I smiled as I picked him up from the slow airport. There wasn't really that many people around so it was really easy to spot him. I wanted some company as I went to pick up my father but my mom was at the house with poor Bella, making me go to get him alone. Bella was having a little trouble with swelling in her ankles and legs and she wanted to stay off her feet as much as possible for the following day. As she put it, she didn't want to be a blimp.
"How was your flight?" I asked as he climbed into the car, chunking his suitcase into the backseat. He hadn't brought too much stuff with him. I knew that he hated that he had to go back in a couple of days and my mother got to stay.
"Boring," he sighed heavily, leaning his head back against the headrest. He looked really tired but I knew he had been working really hard to finish up some loose ends since he decided to retire in the fall.
"That's a good thing," I repeated the words that had been said to me before. A boring and eventful flight was always a good flight.
He smiled slowly, nodding his head at my words. "I suppose you're right about that. How's Bella feeling? I know she was uncomfortable when you guys came to visit," he said, changing the subject. I knew he was worried about her and he wanted to watch over her care, even though he wasn't that kind of doctor, a bit more carefully. It was nice having a doctor on our side.
"Nervous, honestly. She hasn't seen Charlie since New Years. She doesn't know how he's going to react to all of this. I mean, I know he knows she pregnant but he hasn't seen her this way yet," I told him truthfully. I was a bit nervous. I certainly hoped that he didn't travel with his gun. He was going to kill me for putting her in such a miserable position. "She's also nervous about walking in heels tomorrow. She's afraid she's going to fall and bust her face in front of everyone." I rolled my eyes. I couldn't believe that the girls had talked her into it.
Dad chuckled, it a warm sound and inviting sound that rumbling through his chest. I always liked my father's laugh. It meant even more to me now that I could see the expression that went along with it.
"I'm surprised she wants to walk at all. How far along is she now exactly?"
"Thirty-six, almost thirty-seven weeks. She'll be Thirty-seven on Tuesday," I informed him with a sigh in my voice. I was ready for it to be over and not, all at the same time. It was more than a little nerve-wracking.
"Almost there," he tried to comfort me, patting my shoulder as we drove through the busy streets of Shreveport. It was just before lunchtime and everyone seemed to be busy trying to get to places.
I sighed again, looking over at him as I stopped at a red light. "Don't remind me."
"Scared?" He asked in a soft and comforting voice, though I could tell he was a little amused by the whole thing. He must have known exactly how I felt because he went through the very same thing. His must experience must have been more frightening at the end, with what happened to Mom, but I imagined our situation was scary in a whole different sort of way.
"As hell," I admitted.
Bella
We had a quiet lunch all together at home which was really nice. I could tell Carlisle had missed his wife quite a bit. She had been gone a lot lately. But, in all truth, I couldn't relax in the least to really enjoy anything. I hadn't seen my father in months. I wanted to go to the airport to pick him up but I was way too tired already. I was completely drained. He had a late flight and I had to get up early in the morning anyway. Esme didn't want me to wear myself out too much. I felt like I could barely move as it was so I gave in.
"So," Carlisle began slowly. He had decided to stay behind with me while Esme and Edward went back to the airport to get Charlie. It was nice to have his company. He was a sweet man. "Is Renee coming as well?"
I sighed heavily, not really wanting to talk about it as I shook my head.
"I haven't had any contact with Renee since March. I doubt she even knows what's going on. Ever, that is." I smirked.
"Are you going to tell her when the babies are born?" He asked carefully. I could tell if I didn't want to answer that I didn't have to, but I didn't mind telling him. I think it would be harder to talk to my own father about this subject. I don't think he would understand it completely. He always wanted peace in our little broken family, no matter what. Sometimes that just wasn't possible.
"I'm not sure," I said in a quiet sigh. "I don't know. I don't know what I want to do with her about anything. I can't have her around my children if she's this-"
"Unhealthy?" He added for me.
"This insane! Seriously, who acts like that?" I began to rant. I probably didn't need to get this excited but I didn't care. "She's jealous and hateful. She doesn't know Edward and she's condemned him. She won't even give him the chance he deserves. He's never done a single thing other than prove time and time again that he is a fantastic and caring man. She should be happy for me!"
"You know, I really can't tell you what to do about her, dear. I can't imagine ever speaking to you or Edward in such a way that would make you not want to speak to me for months. I wish I could though.
I wish I could give you some kind of good pearl of wisdom. But you're a beautiful young woman and I am glad you are in all our lives." He wrapped his arm around my shoulder and pressed a soft kiss to my temple. He was a fantastic father. "I hope it all works out for the best. I will do whatever I can do to help."
"Me, too." I smiled at him. "Thank you so much."
"Bells?" I heard Charlie call loudly from the front door only a few seconds after it opened. It was like he was expecting me to wait for him by it. Boy, was he in for a surprise.
Carlisle patted my back with a small smile before helping me to stand to my sore feet slowly.
"I'm here, dad," I called back to him, my voice sounding strained even to me. Standing shouldn't be that hard.
"Look at you!" He practically cried in shock as he pulled me into a big hug.
"That bad?" I asked as I looked down at my huge stomach.
"You're glowing!" He laughed, looking as if he was going to burst into tears at any moment. I could see the tears actually forming in his eyes as they welled up. I sniffled, trying to hold back my own. I couldn't handle it if my father cried. It would have been too much.
"So full of it," I laughed brokenly, trying to lighten the mood somewhat. I'm not sure it worked though.
"Don't argue with her, Charlie," Edward stepped in with a soft laugh. "Just go with it. Trust me, it's just easier. She is willing to argue for days now. Though, I agree with you."
Esme smiled and laughed at the comment, going to whisper something in Carlisle's ear. He looked really surprised for a moment before whispering back into his wife's ear. A slow smile grew over his face as she nodded her head quickly, her beautiful curly caramel hair bouncing with the movement.
"Is something going on?" I asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Nope, nothing," Carlisle grinned sheepishly over at his wife. "We're just going back to the hotel so you two can spend some time together. Well, you five, actually," he teased as he came over and for the second time that night he pressed a kiss to my temple. "See you tomorrow, sweetheart. Try to relax and sleep well."
"I love you both," I called to their retreating forms as they walked hand in hand.
"We love you, too." Esme smiled, blowing me a kiss before walking out the front door. I smiled, feeling really happy at that moment. I had a good life and a good family. Well, mostly.
"Okay, baby." Charlie smiled, getting my attention back from my in-laws. "Tell me about these babies of yours. I want to see everything."
Edward
Bella was way too nervous to sleep. I don't think she slept an hour the entire night. She tossed and turned the whole way through, randomly grabbing the blankets or throwing them to the floor. I think she went to the bathroom six different times. But, she looked like she was about to fall asleep with Rose and Alice doing her makeup as she laid on the bed. I shuffled through my closet, looking for the shirt I had wanted to wear. I wanted to look nice for Bella. It was her special day.
"What have you been doing to this woman to make her so tired?" Rose teased quietly. I turned my head to the side to see Bella was, in fact, asleep, sitting up with her mouth hanging wide open. Alice was busy doing Bella's nails while Rose worked her hair into curlers at the top of her head. She honestly looked really silly and I smiled to myself before turning back to the closet.
"Like she's been up to anything like that," I told her truthfully. I knew what she was implying and she was very wrong.
"Oh, what? No more naughty pictures?" She called to me softly.
I choked on my own spit, coughing loudly. Bella didn't even stir. "How did- What?" I stuttered out stupidly, turning to look at them once again.
I knew my face was bright red and I couldn't imagine the color Bella's would be if she was awake right then. I couldn't help to feel embarrassed. Not because of what we did, but because they found out about it. It was something private. I had promised her no one would see them. I didn't know how they knew though.
"Got them hidden in the closet there, Eddie? I wanna see!" Rose kept on playfully, clearly loving torturing me. Alice was just laughing silently, keeping on with her painting.
Alice cleared her throat softly as she noticed my confused expression. "Bella accidentally let it slip. She didn't want to tell us."
"And she was giving me a hard time about it," I mumbled. "Oh! That's why you girls were giving me such a hard time at the barbecue." I figured out quickly.
"Yup. We decided to let your hand heal before we started to torture you again," Rose grinned wickedly. She wiggled her eyebrows, giving me a suggestive look. I just had to roll my eyes at it.
Alice laughed loudly at her friend's words. "You just forgot about it until he was standing there. Don't act like you had a plan or anything."
"Plan for what?" Bella mumbled as she began to wake up, the look of confusion and tiredness clearly written all over her face. I don't think she was really awake.
"Nothing, sweetheart," I said sweetly as I came over to kiss her on the lips after I grabbed my shirt from the closet. I needed to shower and change anyway, so this was a good cue for me to leave. "Go back to sleep if you can. You've got a long day ahead of you. I don't want you to get too tired. Remember we're going to dinner afterward."
"K," she mumbled, almost instantly closing her eyes and snoring softly once again.
I gave Rose and Alice a meaningful glare, my face completely serious as I looked at both of them.
"Behave. It's Bella's day and I won't have anyone messing it up."
Bella
Oh, my god, oh, my god, oh, my god... I chanted in my head over and over again as I waited for the whole ceremony to start. I was so sick to my stomach already. This was nerve-wracking and the shoes I was wearing were killer. All I wanted to do was get it over with so I could start the rest of my life.
One day, after my kids were in school themselves, perhaps I would go back and get my bachelor's, or maybe even something more. I didn't hate school, that was for sure, but at the moment it was too much. I had enough to handle. I was already pleased with myself for making it this far, a lot of people didn't. I knew Edward would support me either way.
"You must be tired," the girl beside me commented, nodding her head towards my stomach.
I let out a hollow laugh, leaning my head against the hall's wall. "Exhausted."
"Don't worry," she said with an encouraging smile. "We'll be able to sit down soon."
I gave her a little grin. "Yeah, that would be nice. Sitting down would be good. My feet are killing me and I want to take a nap. I couldn't sleep I was so nervous."
"Me either," she said truthfully, a little sheepish smile on her face. "So, how far along? Looks like any day now, huh?"
"Probably in the next couple weeks. My doctor's said they would induce me at thirty-nine weeks if I didn't go into labor with my own. I'm having twins and they want me to go as long as possible. I've done pretty well so far," I explained.
"Ah, my sister had twins, but she had them really early. They were about three pounds each when they were born." But she grinned at me. "They're seven now and they're little hell-raisers. Boys are bad though."
I gave a little mental sigh of relief. "They're about six pounds each now. One is only a little bigger than the other, thankfully."
"Do you know what you're having?" She asked. I could tell she was just trying to take her mind off of what was about to happen. I couldn't blame her though. I needed the distraction as well.
"Nope, sadly. They won't even let us have a little peek," I giggled. "They're already as stubborn as their father. I'm hoping for little boys though, truthfully."
"Have you got names?"
That was a question I dreaded. "Uh, we're kind of waiting until we-"
She laughed softly, "can't agree on them or just can't find one?"
"A little of both," I admitted with a groan in my voice.
She laughed a little harder. "Don't worry, when you find the right names you'll just know. You'll see their little faces and you'll go 'wow, you are a-' whatever the name is that you pick."
"I certainly hope so. We need to get on the ball though. We don't have too much longer."
"All right, grads! Let's get this show on the road!" Some teacher in all black shouted, giving us some last minute orders before we were supposed to walk. The girl gave me a nervous grin that I returned.
Yup, let's get this show on the road...
Edward
I watched with family as my beautiful wife walked across the stage to get her diploma. She had earned it with honors. My mother leaned her head against my shoulder as they called 'Isabella Cullen', openly crying. Both fathers were trying their hardest to hold the tears back, puffing up their chests like it would make them tougher. Charlie was having the hardest time, of course. It was his little girl. Tiny tears dripped down his cheeks which he quickly swept away.
It was amazing how loud the group that cheered for Bella was. We weren't that huge but Alice, Rose, and Emmett were probably the loudest people in the Gold Dome. I could see Bella's blush from across the room, walking with one hand covering her eyes in embarrassment. We all laughed, whistling and cheering happily.
I don't think I had ever been so proud in my life.
But, I didn't expect the madness that started after the end of the ceremony. The place was buzzing and crowded, people wall to wall. They were all starting to blend together, my eyes aching with the strain. My mother noticed and without a word, she took my hand and stood close to me.
"Alice is going to call Bella," she shouted in my ear. "That way she'll tell us where she's at and we can go to her. We don't have to fight the crowd as much."
"Sounds good," I said, relieved that Alice thought of that. We hadn't been very organized about what was going to happen afterward. My graduation was nothing like this, of course. There were only twelve people in my class. Even with all our families, we did it in a small cafeteria.
"She's on the gym floor, towards the middle. She's sitting in the chairs. Middle inside, tenth down." Alice shouted to everyone in our little group, taking Jasper's hand. "She got too tired and had to sit," she laughed with a small smile.
"I don't think she wanted to fight the crowd either," I laughed and smiled. "Can't blame her in the least."
"Come on. Let's go get her. I know she's got to be hungry. She didn't eat anything this morning." Charlie shouted but it was a little too loud. Most of the people seemed to be moving outside. He grimaced and cleared his throat, trying again. "She needs to keep up her strength."
"How is she going to keep up her strength with cheesecake and french fries?" Emmett teased my father in law, slapping him on the back. He grinned to show he was teasing. Charlie rolled his eyes.
"You may have a point there."
"Can you guys stop making fun of my wife? Seriously." I rolled my eyes, holding in my laughter. I had to cover my bases, of course. I knew it would get back to her if I did tease her. I preferred to do my teasing in person, anyway. I loved to see her blush.
We easily found Bella on the now empty gym floor, her feet out in front of her with her shoes off. She was flexing her toes, leaning against the side of the chair with her head on her shoulder. The deep purple circles under her eyes were hard to miss. I knelt in front of her, taking both of her hands and kissed them lightly.
"Hey there," I said in a soft voice.
She smiled slowly at me from underneath her eyelashes. "Hi."
"I am so proud of you."
"Thank you." She grinned. I took her into a deep hug, pulling her to her feet slowly. Kissing both of her cheeks, I held her face in my hands as my thumbs grazed her temples.
"There's our girl!" Charlie said, coming to kiss her cheek as well as my arm wrapped around her waist.
Bella
I'm so proud of you," my dad gushed.
"Thanks,." I smiled, hugging him tightly. Carlisle and Esme stood back, giving us our moment. I couldn't have that. I walked up to both of them after putting on my shoes, hugging and placing a soft kiss on each of their cheeks. "Thank you for everything."
"We love you," Esme whispered into my ear, kissing my hair.
"You've done so well," Carlisle said in return, rubbing my arm.
"Okay. Not to break up this family love fest too much, but where's my lovin?" Jasper jumped in. I chuckled and pulled him into a hug too. He huffed, picking me off my feet for a moment and passing me off to Emmett. Both of my girlfriends squealed, hugging me in once Emmett put me down.
"You really have done well, Bella," a familiar voice said from behind me. I whipped around, my mouth dropping open. "But, you could have done so much more."
"Renee?"
Edward
I turned quickly when I heard her voice, instantly getting angry. "What are you doing here?"
"It's my daughter's graduation," she said with her chin up in the air, disdain dripping from her very being. I knew it was wrong to punch a woman but I wanted to so badly.
"H-how did you even know about it?" Bella stuttered out, looking as if she was about to go into shock.
"Your father told me," she said in a matter of fact voice. We all turned to Charlie.
"You said you wouldn't come!" He growled at her. "Are you insane? Renee, you've really lost it. I swear-"
"Oh, can it, Charlie. What did you expect me to do?" She asked her hand on her hip with it cocked to the side.
"Not ruin your daughter's special day. That's what I expected you to do, you nut!" He shouted at her, throwing his arms up in the air almost dramatically. His face was starting to turn a nice shade of purple. I wouldn't have been surprised if he had his gun he would have shot her. He was literally livid. "We discussed this! She doesn't want you here!"
"Oh, my god," I heard Bella groan loudly, her hand gripping my shoulder. I hadn't been looking at her but now she had my full attention. She was gripping her stomach, slightly hunched over as if she was doubled in pain. And then I noticed the puddle of liquid on the floor.
"Her water just broke!" I heard my father say as he rushed to my wife's side. "Honey, are you in any pain? Where does it hurt? The fluid is clear, that's good. No blood. Bella, honey, answer me, please. Are you in any pain?"
"My back hurts," she whimpered loudly, her head tilting back as she took in a deep breath. "It feels like someone kicked me."
"That's normal. Okay, we need to get you to the hospital," he said as he peeled her hand off my shoulder and gripped it tightly in his own. I took her other hand, supporting her arm. Bella was still slightly hunched over. "Bella, I want you to tell me when you have a contraction so we can time it. Can you do that for me?"
"Yes, sir," she said in a soft voice, trying to move her feet forward but she couldn't. She didn't seem to be able to move at all. And then Bella screamed, her limbs tensing. I'm surprised she didn't fall over.
"We'll go get my jeep," Emmett said, running away from the group quickly as he hopped into action.
"Well, that's one," I said quietly, rubbing her back as I felt her muscles relax.
"Oh, god. There's more of those? These are contractions? Oh, my god," she moaned, leaning against me as she tried to catch her breath. I could tell it was a challenge. "These are so much worse. Practice ones, my ass."
"Well, perhaps you should have thought of that before you got knocked up," Renee said crudely from behind us. I was just about to say something when my mother spun on her heels, her finger up in the air and pointing it directly at Renee's nose.
"Now you listen to me and you listen to me good you fucking nut job. You have done enough damage to this girl already and if I hear another rude word from you, I will beat your ass into the goddamn ground. She's a fantastic woman and she's going to be a great mother, something you don't seem to understand. Now, you can either be a jealous bitch or you can be a supportive mother. It's your choice. And it's Bella's choice whether you're in her life or not. But, either way, we don't have time for you right now because OUR grandchildren are about to be born and unless you want them born on a basketball court why don't you shut the hell up!"
I think everyone stopped to look at my mild-mannered mother, mouth's open. Even Bella seemed to forget her pain. I looked over my wife's head at my father.
"Whoa. I don't think I've ever heard her cuss like that before," I breathed.
"Neither have I," he murmured, turning his attention back to his very red-faced wife. "Come on, son. Let's get Bella to the hospital."
Once a troll, always a troll.
Only two more chapters left and an epilogue!
Thanks for reading!